Apple MacBook Pro 15 – Core i9 slower than Core i7!

[Redaktion]

When Apple started selling the MacBook Pro 15 with the new 6-core CPUs, we saw numerous negative reports about the performance, especially with the optional i9 CPU. We previously reviewed the i7 SKU and it took several software updates before the performance of the i7 was stable, but the i9 still disappoints.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Core-i9-slower-than-Core-i7.396971.0.html

[Jonathan F.V.]

Yeah, you can't beat physics. You can make a good general machine out of a Macbook Pro, but not a performance monster (for current technology). For that, you'll need a bigger laptop and supply it with adequate power, and it's always going to be the case comparing same generation components. If you want more powerful, there are plenty of desktop replacements who can easily best the MBP in every way of measuring performance, aside from battery life. Perhaps Apple should offed a real portable workstation. I'm sure some people would buy it. Apple is good at designing machines, and I'm sure they could come up with something bigger but well made, and still sleeker than most desktop replacements, while still offering a serviceable machine (offer at least two spaces for drives that you can change, and four memory slots, none of that soldered forever bullshit). Would be good if the processor and GPU could be upgraded, too, especially on this class of machine and if they create a frame and motherboard that can be reused for many generations.

[Andy B]

At the beginning of 2019, I purchased the MB Pro 15" with the 6-core i9, 32 GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and the AMD Pro Vega 20 video card expecting it to totally outperform everything, spending a very pretty penny to do so. I also own a mid-2014 MB Pro 15" quad-core i7 with 16GB RAM and a 500 GB SSD. I have not seen any performance improvement compared to the older unit. Don't get me wrong--they both perform very well and meet the needs that I have overall. I run Parallels on each device and have both Windows 7 and Windows 10 installed. With the new unit, I was able to assign 2 processor cores to each OS and plenty or RAM so they each run just fine. The older unit also does fine, but I avoid running both Windows OS's at the same time due to the limited processor cores.

On a second note, the keyboard on the mid-2014 MB Pro is much better to type on as the keys are taller and have more give. The 2019 MB Pro has flat keys that are not forgiving and make my fingertips a bit sensitive after using the device for extended periods. I also had several issues with the new keyboard repeating and skipping keys. II had Apple replace the keyboard twice in the first two months of ownership. I still see repeating keys at times, but not as much as early on.

The trackpad on the 2019 MB Pro is also much larger and causes me grief when typing because it tends to be unavoidable. It is also not as flexible as the older MB Pro trackpads, so the lack of tactile feedback takes a while to get used to. I enabled tap to click instead--and this may be a part of the issue I have with the device moving the cursor as I type when y hand inadvertently touches the trackpad. 

Basically, if I plan to do a lot of typing, I will turn to my older MB Pro instead of the new one. If I want to run multiple OS's at the same time to run specific applications, then I use the new i9 unit.